The Wildlife Act of 1976 is an Act of the Oireachtas protecting certain wildlife (including game) and flora in the Republic of Ireland. With the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000 it is the principal national legislation for the protection of wildlife species and habitats in Ireland.
The Act included a schedule of protected species, but it was relatively weak on habitat protection, particularly in the case of habitats on privately owned land. Subsequent measures to transpose the European Union's Birds Directive and Habitats Directive into Irish law have strengthened habitat protection.
The Wildlife Act of 1976 was followed by:
Since 1976 the Act has since been amended several times, first by the "European Communities (Wildlife Act, 1976) (Amendment) Regulations, 1985", which sought to manage, conserve, and protect birds. The second amendment was the "European Communities (Wildlife Act, 1976) (Amendment) Regulations, 1986", which added the control of species of wild bird which may cause damage or injury to specified interests. The most recent was the "Wildlife (Amendment) Act, 2000 (Act No. 38 of 2000)", which provided statutory protection for Natural Heritage Areas as well as legislation relating to the management and conservation of forests, including the hunting and capture of birds in protected forests.